'SHERLOCK' 1.1 - "A Study In Pink"

[SPOILERS] Conceived during train journeys while working on Doctor Who, Sherlock is a modern update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 19th-century detective adventures, from Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, writers whose affection for Victoriana is clear and evident. Gatiss's work is often inspired or set during the Industrial Age, while his first Who script ("The Unquiet Dead") featured that century's greatest novelist, Charles Dickens. Moffat's oeuvre is less historical in nature, although he recently wrote the BBC miniseries Jekyll, a contemporary sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella "The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde". A fine writing partnership to tackle the world's most famous crime-fighting duo, then.

Benedict Cumberbatch headlines as Sherlock, a cadaverous young man with flowing locks, prompting superficial physical comparisons to Matt Smith's look as The Doctor, compounded by the noted similarities in both character's intelligence and poise. Fortunately, delineation is clear in how Sherlock's a self-proclaimed "high-functioning sociopath" with a solemn, vaguely unsettling demeanour that only occasionally cracks into a lilting grin if a particularly baffling mystery presents itself.

"A Study In Pink" is a loose remake of Conan Doyle's "A Study In Scarlet" novella (so the case is easily cracked by Holmes bookworms), although Moffat's script offers original delights of its own. Half the fun is simply seeing how the source material's been updated, with invalided army soldier Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman) back in London with post-traumatic stress disorder (and a psychosomatic limp), and finding himself flat-sharing with the titular sleuth. John forms a connection with Sherlock rather quickly, partly because he's the first man to actively marvel at this consultant detective's powers of deduction, after accompanying him to the scene of a crime: a fourth suspicious suicide that Sherlock believes is actually the handiwork of a serial killer.

The police treat Sherlock as a kind of annoying freak, occasionally called in by D.I Lestrade (Rupert Graves) as a last resort, although Lestrade knows that Sherlock's genius shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. As a raging egomaniac, John's vocal astonishment as Sherlock's abilities endears him to his waspish flatmate and, given John's profession, Sherlock's likewise keen to have a trusted doctor be his professional partner and, possibly, first real friend?

I had my doubts about Freeman in this role, as the actor often trots out mild variations on his character Tim from The Office, but he actually finds some depth and quiet dignity as John Watson which was a welcome surprise. I just don't believe in him as a military man. The dynamic between Freeman and Cumberbatch is at an embryonic stage right now, but there are plenty of signs the two actors will make a compelling odd couple. Cumberbatch does a startlingly good job making Sherlock amusingly exasperating, but not totally insufferable, and while the update refuses to give Sherlock a drug addiction (nicotine patches replace the iconic pipe, there's no sign of any opium), it's made clear that his drug is his work. He has a frightening, almost pathological need to be proven right, which comes to the fore in the climax over correctly deriving a poisoned pill from a 50/50 chance.

Sherlock also benefitted enormously from the assured direction of Paul McGuigan (Gangster No. 1, Lucky Number Slevin), whose work on the big-screen undoubtedly helped give this TV production a snap and style we rarely see on the small-screen. I particularly liked his cinematic eye in chopping the screen up into thirds, and the use of transitional swipes between scenes. There was also an inventive way to visualize texting, with phone messages being superimposed over the on-screen action. A simple but very effective device. The only mild concern was how words likewise appeared to show Sherlock's mental thought processes while examining a corpse, partly because it felt unnecessary because he vocalized his thoughts afterwards anyway. Hopefully the series will refine this idea, as it's an interesting way to put the viewer into Sherlock's mindspace, in principle.

Overall, Sherlock launched with an abundance of wit and dynamism from its two compelling leads, each biting into the succulent script from Moffat's pen -- which performed the same trick as his Jekyll miniseries, in presenting an old idea in a fresh way that doesn't feel ridiculous. Connoisseurs of the great detective will breathe a sigh of relief that the characterisation and deductive reasoning is intact, while newcomers will soak up what's essentially a great crime mystery with two mismatched friends at its core.

Asides

• I wonder if accepting this role has removed Cumberbatch from inheriting the TARDIS one day, at least while Doctor Who's in Moffat's hands and both shows are on-air together. If it's indeed unlikely because of certain conflicts, wouldn't Cumberbatch make a great Master? There are clearly echoes of Smith's Doctor in his features and style, which would stick to the casting of John Simm as an intentional "dark twin" to mirror David Tennant's performance. To fan the flames of gossip, Cumberbatch has already hinted that he may appear in a multi-part Who storyline soon.
• If you've ever doubted Sherlock Holmes's influence on modern-day crime shows, it was only a few months ago that Luther dealt with the idea of a taxi driving serial killer, too.
• Three 90-minute adventures may equal a six-part regular miniseries, but that still feels annoyingly brief. Hopefully success will ensure a longer run if (when?) the show returns.
• How great was the ending between Sherlock and the killer, over two bottles of pills? That scene in itself was responsible for half-a-star in my rating.
• I was slightly surprised they've already setup the presence of Moriarty (Sherlock's "fan"), mainly because that feels like a trump card they'd hold in reserve for awhile. It was fun watching the script play with expectations regarding Moriarty and Mark Gatiss's character, who was amusingly revealed to be Sherlock's worrisome brother Mycroft. I didn't expect co-creator Gatiss to have gifted himself the arch-enemy role, but the deception still worked nicely.

WRITER: Steven Moffat
DIRECTOR: Paul McGuigan
CAST: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves, Louise Brealey, Vinette Robinson, Phil Davis & Mark Gatiss.
TRANSMISSION: 25 July 2010 - BBC1/HD, 9PM